Life in the village. Rhythms of the tribal corporation keep us moving, dispelling the nonsense that passes for normal in the “real” world. These rhythms regularly produce real results at the springs, including a few bright new buildings on the land this year. After replacing the heat exchanger in Wellhead #1 (big project from last winter), a beautiful geothermal temple was built to house the heat exchange plumbing located within. Then, in the fall before winter’s grip, the Compost Pavilion rose up and two Earth Tubs were placed within. There they are, churning, turning 50,000 pounds of kitchen waste per year into black crumbly compost for garden starts. Nearby, at the nexus of trails leading from main camp to guest cabins, a spacious new information kiosk was built. Now you can view trail systems on the maps and read up on other community news & views, history & mystery, out of the rain & slush. And, on the north side of the river, a new community home was built to accommodate our growing numbers.Honoring one of our building design principles (“Use recycled/sustainable/renewable as much as we can”) all four of these structures were constructed using sustainably harvested homegrown lumber. It comes from “volunteers”, trees that offer their wood to us by falling or being blown down in the Breitenbush forest. Some we mill into beams & boards, and other pieces we take whole from the trunks.That which remains unseen often has the greatest effect. In this realm, we have been working on our relentless bugaboo, the TELEPHONE system. And, by goddess, this time we may just have it licked. On the day of November’s first snowfall, community workers finished the final touches on the technology and tower that turns vocal vibrations into a microwave and sends it between mountains to a far tower where it is turned back into vocal vibrations, thence to be delivered to a telephone somewhere in the world. All at the speed of light. Though none of this is visible at Breitenbush, the effects are profound. We can talk to the world, at last! We think. Nothing is sure. It’s still not perfect. We monitor progress moment by moment. It’s like life.It’s always an unfolding scene here in the co-op community village, and though it always kind of feels the same, it always changes. If your changes are directing you toward a meeting with remarkable circumstances, come to the springs and join your changes with ours.Blessings, Peter - Business Director